SF Alpha with QSound, SF2 Mix and 128MB Poll
This week we are going to get some love from arcade hackers.
First, we have the SF Alpha for CPS1.5 project. Born in our Discord channel, this is a version combining the CPU+GFX of the CPS charger version with the QSound from the CPS2 version. You can use it with today's update of JTCPS15 core.
As this is a charger game, after all, you can use the charger pause key. And if you press that pause key and hold it while pressing the 2P start the config screen of the game will appear.
Second, we have SF2 Mix. The list of modifications of this hack is quite long. I didn't know about this game until it came as a pull request to the repository. Please, check it out.
Finally, about the SDRAM. After much research, I think 96MHz high-speed R/W operation is not reliable on 128MB modules. I do not have numbers, but I suspect it affects at least 10% of 128MB module users. Please answer to the poll after updating JTCPS15 to today's update. Crashes on Slam Masters and Muscle Duo do not count as they respond to a different factor.
If the percentage is indeed large, I will draw the clock down to 64MHz. At that speed, I may draw a line and reject to support 128MB modules that don't meet that speed.
Remember that if you use MiST or SiDi, you will have to update manually from JTBIN.
Enjoy this week's games!
Comments (101)
Do the CPS1.5 cores not have sound yet?
How to install Sf alpha ? Where is the mra file ?
I am getting an error on the latest sf2mix 99a mra no matter where I put the roms. s92-13m.6a not found
after updating the cores to 48mhz, will there be differences compared to the original PCB?
I am collecting data at the moment. I will publish the results on Friday.
The MiSTer wiki advises that a 130MHz ram module will cover everything or am i missing something? Will those of us with faster modules lose out at all with this proposed update?
My 130MHz module doesn't work.
Both of my 128MB modules is causing problems with CPS 1.5 games, most of the time SFZ (cps 1.5) doesn't even start, and C&D craps out right at the start with a memory address error. Can you try getting the clock down so we can see if it resolves the issue for people?
Yes, that’s the plan. I am preparing an update for this week. I will make another poll and see who’s left out after that. I hope we’ll be able to use the current module for many more cores.
I hope everyone is enjoying Jotego's work over the festive season, but wondered Is there any reason why SF "Zero" (Jap) was selected for the QSound treatment over the SF "Alpha" (US) version?
my guess is because traditionally, the japanese versions of arcade fighting games are the more played versions among fans, and are also the easier versions of arcade games
nvrmind.. jus changed my vote to working. User error on my end.. missed updating the actual core last time... doh! Works and sounds great! 128mb module from ZeroHimself! Please keep supporting 128mb! lol.. Thanks Jose
Black screen usually means that MiSTer cannot find the ROM. Sometimes it’s hard to understand why as Olivier has kindly explained.
put the rom in “hbmame” folder，it's working . but sometimes will graphic corruptions. It should be a memory problem
sfzch_cps15.zip not working，black screen. other two OK.
like you had a lot of black screen with sfz 1.5 and the other two were fine, until i go for a new "update all" and change the default organized structure to a messy pile of mra at the root of "_arcade" folder mixed with one "mame" folder, one "cores" and one "_alternatives" in that way i have to search one game a bit more but other than that sfz 1.5 work like a charm now. The arcade folder in mister can be very tricky you have to compose with updates of mra, cores and sometimes new roms, all sort of stuffs that don't make your life easier.
ok, have to change my vote with a bit of cleaning in arcade directory now sfz 1.5 works, arf arcade directory...
My 128MB module from Misterfpga.co.uk loads C&D and The Punisher ok but SFZ always shows the illegal address screen no matter what I try. Hopefully Jotego can get to the bottom of it and find a solution that doesn't require buying a new module or modding the existing one :)
Yep... same here
I played both The Punisher and Cadillacs to the end on all three of my Mister FPGAs with 128mb modules. no problem.
I've also noticed that if the RAM module starts cold, C&D works fine, but once the module heats up, that's when the address errors occur.
Quite the same here : if The Punisher or SF Zero 1.5 is not the 1st game started from cold, problems appear. So I didn't vote, need a 4th choice :)
Used a 128mb module from misterfpga.co.uk with SFZ CPS1.5 ver over the weekend. Played for around 45 minutes or so. No issues. Played through two levels of the punisher without issues. Will carry out more checks over next few days across other games.
No issues with 128MB module from misteraddons. Except some screentearing here and there.
I'm changing my vote, after powering down and letting my MiSTer cool (I had been transferring a large amount of files to it, and it got quite warm prior to testing) Both games run fine now.
Pulled latest updates and added the SFZ hack to my mister. Played through a few rounds of SFZ (one player). Played Punisher up to the start of level four (two players). No issues. 128MB RAM from Zerohimself. Aside: I thought the audio in the SFZ hack was a bit harsh/bright.
Just finished complete runs of The Punisher, C&Ds, and 2 hours of SF Zero without any issues. 128MB Module purchased from ZeroHimself.
SF2 mix was such a surprise. the addition of EX moves, p guard, guard crush, stun meter, the random starting positions, and updated mechanics feel like a new game! a perfect blend of retro SF with modern enhancements. seriously good job on this rom hack!
My hangs with a 128MB MISTer from Antonio Villena.
My module from ManuFerHI works like a charm.
in all 3 of my Mister FPGAs with 128 mb module, the CPS 1.5 titles work correctly.
Played through C&D with no issues. RAM from zerohimself.
I did notice some screen tearing though (occasionally). Running RGB out to a PVM via the IO Board.
Changed my vote back to pass as I found the root cause of my issue and it was temperature related due to lack of airflow.
sfmix is getting wrong crc checksum on loading
After update de cps1.5 core can't insert coin or start game
The old MRAs are busted with the new core .rbf. Redownload the new ones or use update_all.
Bought my 128 MB from Antonio Villena, Punisher crashes on the last stage (single player mode) and C&D crashes during the first boss (two players mode). That’s better than before but It remains problems with the memory.
I get hanged on Sfz ram check, just when checked Qsound
I noticed that I can run the game if I fresh start mister with it. If I was playing around for some time, It hangs at ram checks
Really strange I was able to play C&D with one controller from beginning to end. However, with two controllers connected it crashes both in demo mode and during gameplay on the same 2nd level at the same spot where the barrels are first located. Changed my vote from pass to fail for 128MB
For street fighter Mix, I had to add .MRA as a file extension. Although it may have been fixed in an update.
Played entire gamethrough in sequence for Cadillacs and Dinosours, The Punisher without any problem. During gameplay of SFZ on last boss for chun-li on second round when blocked a kick got that address error: ADDRESS:00038790 AC ADRS:00FF8807 R W : READ MODE: DATA FC :INT ACK Played again with Ken and completed the game without any problems... Buyed mine SDRAM 128MB from ZeroHimself the end of last year (dec/2019)
I have issues with ST zero - usually after one game i get random odd things happen - not encountered issues with other games however - RAM is from misterfpga.co.uk
XXSD SDRAM 128MB from Antonio Villena showed no problems at all when I played through all of Punisher. For science I now also played 20mins of C&D and it also didn't hang but I think a few minor graphical glitches appeared (single distorted lines).
Same symptoms for me, some minor glitches in both games. Also have the 128MB module from Antonio Villena. Muscle Bomber Duo not working properly - crashes on the first screen after inserting coin. Not sure if this is the SDRAM or the core, seeing as its a beta
SF Zero doesn’t really hang for me, but I get no image with it (sound and overlay are fine)
Worked ok on the second attempt. C&D is fine.
I played C&D and Punisher for 10 mins each with no problems. SFZ has been on attract mode for 20 mins with no problems. I jumped into a game quickly and all seemed good.
SF Zero runs OK. Cadillacs and Dinosours hnags after a few minutes of gameplay. The error I get is 1111 Exception 0001D93E. For the Punisher, I get the message "ILLEGAL INST. 0000149A" when I select Player 1.
I reset my MISTER and now I can play The Punisher for a few minutes before getting "1010 EXCEPTION FFFF8224" right after completing the 1st stage.
SF Zero hangs up at the Capcom logo usually. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, and Punisher seem fine. I got my 128MB module from zerohimself back when they first came out.
I have a random 128MB version 2.4 module from eBay. The SFZ conversion runs fine, but in Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, I'm getting an Address Error 0001037F 0001003E message whenever I try to pick up an item.
SFZ is the only one that doesn't load for me. Others work great. (128MB, ebay)
Alliance 128MB RAM crashes in cadillacs whenever i try throw dynamite. Sometimes character will change to another character mid game and become invulnerable. Won't accept inputs in this state but the enemies can still move and try hit the character.
128MB XSD through Antonio, but I think it was sent via Ricardo at retroshop.pt about a year or so ago. Booted and played two matches in SFZ and three levels in Punisher, no issues.
Mister addons, 128, crashed on SFZ q-sound hack.
128MB from Antonio Villena that I got about a year ago. Punisher works fine, played through the entire game. C&D crashes in the first level or on the first demo loop. SFZ crashes during the first demo loop or during the first round if I start immediately. It's weird because I was able to play through all of C&D last week without any errors. Seems to be worse with this beta for me.
I just came home and turned on The Punisher and let it run in atract mode. We'll see tomorrow if it's still alive. Good night. And thank you :)
Is running a game overnight in attract mode a good enough sdram test?
Thanks so much Jose for all of this work. SF Zero qsound shocked me - it really sounds amazing. Please support us 128MB users - I would buy a new module for CPS2, but I don't love the idea of swapping out RAM back and forth!
How can I get SFA1.5 and SFmix work? were are the mra's?
try there https://github.com/jotego/jtbin/blob/master/mister/MRA-Alternatives_MiSTer/releases/MRA-Alternatives_20201218.zip
Ultimate MiSTer Pro from ultimatemister.com. No issue so far with the 128MB module. I wonder if the cooling (noctua fan here) could help?
C&D and the punisher ok but can't play sfz qsound hack
Ran Punisher and C&D in attract mode for a couple of hours w/no crashes.
Some minor graphical glitches. But works otherwise and the usual beep with analog sound. I have sdram board that I have soldered myself and a heatsink and fan on the fpga. Thanks for your hard work again!
played thru/beat the sfz Qsound hack, no hangups or crashes. my 128 module was bought in January of 2020 from a seller on the atari forums
Misteraddons 128mb add-on and those 3 games ran without crashing. Though the Chinese version of Cadillac and Dinosaurs has sound issue trying to play the in-game music, other sound FX are ok.
such great work, all working fine for me thanks Jotego
Got it. Thanks.
SFzero starts then gets aillegal operation in the demo screen.The others work fine :)
i had to add (.mra) to the street fighter ii mix file in the alternatives folder for SF2ce but WOW, i just ran thru sf2mix and beat the game. this rom hack is incredible! perfect difficulty balance, and the refined mechanics and variations to the special moves is very fun.
I get an error with sf2mix. s92-13m.6c File is missing. When I check the zip file, that file is there. Any suggestions? File is in the _alternatives/_street fighter ii' champion edition folder.
I fixed that by moving the zip file to my mame folder. Maybe try that and see if it works for you.
Two MiSTer 128MB modules, one from MisterAddons and another from eBay. MisterAddons works well, the eBay module works for The Punisher but caused a reboot on starting SFZ and Cadillacs. Re-ran update_all and rebooted, and now SFX and Cadillacs are working on the eBay module. Hard to say if it's not going to crash again later, leaving it running.
SF Zero hangs with illegal instruction, all the others seem OK.
Misteraddons 128MB memory working fine with all JT cores on my 3 Mister boxes
Played 3 levels of C&D, 1 level of Punisher, and 1 round of SF Zero and didn't encounter any issues. I got my 128 MB module from MiSTer Addons in May.
Thanks for the update JT, and thanks to grego & pals for the interesting hack - it sounds great! Using a 128mb module from misterfpga and so far all working OK
Stoked on these hacks. Thanks for the work!
Hello i'm not at home to test atm, how much time left before the poll close?
SfZero illegal instruction, all the others OK. EDIT: tried with 64mb module and works fine.
Where and when should the errors occur? Got a 128mb Module from misteraddons and am willing to test
Re: 128MB module, all good here except for Sfzch_cps15, which doesn’t load. Awesome work José, much appreciated.
I had a similar issue - I tried putting the ROM in the mame dir not hbmame then it worked.
SF Zero plays well with QSound. Great work. I love the jingle.
After a hang or two, I was able to complete Punisher on last week's public build. On the latest build, after about 15 minutes in attract mode, I reliably get an "EXCEPTION" or "ILLEGAL INST." and a hang.
I just let the attract mode run for 25 minutes without any problems.
Sfzero hangs and the others seem to work normal. The others worked with the first release.
Same here!
SF Zero CPS 1.5 version hangs on my 128MB module. The others seem to work fine.
Same here. G&G all tests ok - and games from CPS1.5 worked fine like a charm. Alpha series is cool, when arrives cps2 ...wow.... my first ps1 2d game was SFAlpha2. Very limited port but i loved all the sound. - Returning to sf2 hacks, i played in pc some, and scrolls, portrait photos, and other changes are interesting to converge in all the ALT folders some day, but not an urgent priority. All adds are welcome. ;-)
I have a 128MB module from misteraddons and games appear to play fine. For example, I've played Cadillacs & Dinos for 45 mins straight with no crashing.
The mem test core is not a complete picture of how good your module is.
So maybe an improved memory test would be better to validate a memory module?
The previous update fixed my issues with C&D on the second stage but I did not have any other issues with other games crashing prior to the second update and I did pass the memtest at 140 without any errors.
Punisher and Cadilacs work on my 128MB module, but I am not sure where to get the mra for SF Zero for using with CPS1.5
The MRA will get downloaded when you update.
I'd be interested to know if people having problems with these games can pass the MiSTer memtest at 100Mhz.
I'll play some Punisher and Cadillacs this evening. For those experiencing hangs, how long does it take for the issue to occur? EDIT: Played to level 5 in Cadillacs and no problems. I'll try Punisher later and I'll leave Zero running in attract mode while I work this afternoon (or does the hang only occur during gameplay?). EDIT 2: No issues for me on any of those 3 games.